


Speedsters From Another Dimension

by Isaac_McCa11



Category: Young Avengers, Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen, implied thinkfast, spitfire mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-14
Updated: 2016-07-14
Packaged: 2018-07-23 21:23:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7480620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Isaac_McCa11/pseuds/Isaac_McCa11
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Tommy and Wally meet in the void after being attacked.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Speedsters From Another Dimension

When Tommy opened his eyes, he was blinded by white light, so he shut them quickly. A few moments after, he hesitantly opened his eyes to adjust to the light. After his eyes adjusted, he was able to survey his surroundings. There was absolutely nothing around him in any direction other than blinding white. Even below his feet was nothing but white, giving him the feeling of floating despite the feeling of solid floor beneath his feet.

“This can’t be good.” Tommy said out loud to nobody in particular. He took a step forward to see how the emptiness would react. Sensing no change, he shot out, running as fast as he could. Tommy remembered the thing in Eli’s suit- _Patrinot_ , Tommy thought wryly- reaching out for him; he remembered David yelling out at him, Patrinot touching him, and then sudden explosive pain, and then…. He was here. The pain wasn’t anything he wasn’t used to- after all, pain had followed him his entire life. The thing that really bothered him was the thing in Eli’s suit. What was it? How did it get the suit, and why was it in the warehouse? What was it after? And how did it catch him? Suddenly his stomach clenched as another thought entered his head- did the thing get David, too? Could it have killed David? If it did, that was all on Tommy. Tommy was the one who had brought David to the warehouse, had brought him back into the superhero game. If anything had happened to David, then that was another person’s blood on his hands, another friend’s blood on his hands. The thought of having more blood on his hands, especially of his friends, made his stomach twist painfully. Tommy made himself run faster, pushing himself harder, trying to push out the the thoughts and memories in his head. He remembered the first time he had killed someone, in juvie. He remembered feeling the life drain from the other mutant, remembered how the scientists would make him kill the other mutants, or have him killed. Tommy remembered how he had shut down his emotions at that point, had forced himself to not feel anything. When he was freed, he had been able to use humor to cover up his feelings again, like he had been able to do before juvie. Tommy felt hot tears welling up in his eyes and fall down his face. He was totally alone ( _again_ ) with no foreseeable end ( _again_ ).

Tommy kept running through the emptiness. He didn’t know how he was able to, but he didn’t care at this point- all he wanted was to get out. Tommy tried to vibrate through whatever he was standing on, but nothing happened. So he kept running, running, trying to find an end to the abyss, but there was no change. Panic was bottling up inside him, and he pushed himself to run faster, vibrate faster, just move faster, but nothing was happening, and Tommy’s whole body shook with anger, fear, and panic. His only comfort was that at least this time, there weren’t any so-called ‘doctors’ to experiment on him again.

Tommy didn’t know how long he was alone in the emptiness, since there was no way to mark time and his internal clock was messed up (perks of being a speedster). But Tommy didn’t mind being alone- after all, he had been alone for most of his life. At least, this is what he told himself when the loneliness became overwhelming and the absence of any other presence seemed to suffocate him. Loneliness is better than experimentation, Tommy would tell himself firmly. He tried to ignore the fact that, even when he was being experimented on in Juvie, he had been able to talk to the other mutants, and that he hadn’t ever been so isolated.

Since no one was there, since nothing was there, there wasn’t much to do at all. After trying to blow his way out, or to run or vibrate through whatever was enclosing him, and finally realizing it had no effect whatsoever, Tommy reluctantly accepted that he was stuck there for the time being and tried to find other ways to pass the time. Of course, this didn’t mean that he gave up entirely on trying to find a way out. He just tried to distract his frustration at how futile his efforts seemed to be. So mostly, he just ran, since that was all he really could do. Sometimes he would think about the team and wonder if they even noticed he was gone, if they even cared. He wondered if they were glad he was gone. If his parents knew that he had been bust out of Juvie, or if they even cared at all (if they had ever really cared about him). If Eli was okay, since the thing had taken his suit, or if the thing was just a shapeshifter of some sort. Tommy wondered bitterly if the thing had actually just killed him and this was his own personal hell to punish him for everything he had done during his life. He wondered if David was alive still, wondered if Kate thought about him at all, wondered if she had ever actually liked him and not just thought of him as something to use him to get back at Eli (a weapon, like the Juvie monsters had been trying to turn him into). He wondered if Billy could feel his thoughts, since they were soul twins or whatever, before thinking that if Billy could feel his, he should be able to feel Billy’s, and he couldn’t. He wondered if Billy hated him, since the only family Tommy’d ever had had always hated him, and he didn’t think that this new family he had somehow acquired would be any different. It was during one of his runs, when he was thinking about where everyone he knew was and if his team were kicking some bad guy’s butt without him, when his surroundings changed for the first time. The light around him grew brighter and brighter rapidly, and Tommy stopped quickly, skidding to a stop as he shielded his eyes. Eventually, the light began to dim and go back to normal, and Tommy’s heart sped up, going faster than it usually did. What had happened? Why? Was he finally being taken out of this place? Had anything changed at all? Or had he just imagined it? These thoughts sprinted through his brain and he waited impatiently for the light to finally go back to its normal brightness. When it did, there was a guy skidding to a stop, looking very confused and like he was just getting his breath back. The new guy had bright red hair and was wearing an even brighter red and yellow skin tight suit that made Tommy fleetingly think of McDonald’s and smirk. The guy looked around before finally seeing Tommy.

“Where am I? Am I dead?” The guy asked.

“I don’t know, and I sure as hell hope not, ‘cause that means I’m dead, too.” Tommy replied with a snort and roll of his eyes. This guy looked a little older than Tommy, though not by much, and Tommy wondered how this dude had gotten here. “So, who the hell are you?” Tommy asked, zipping over to examine him.

“I’m Wally West, Kid Flash. Who the hell are you? You’re a speedster, too?” The guy- Wally- said the last part in surprise, as if he knew the other speedsters.

“I’m Tommy Shepherd, also known as Speed!” Tommy responded proudly. “And what do you mean, ‘too’? You’re a speedster? I thought me and Uncle Pete were the only ones.”

“What? No way. Me and Uncle Barry are speedsters. In fact, he’s part of the Justice League. The Flash, maybe you’ve heard of him.” Wally said as if everyone should know who or what the Justice League was.

“Never heard of that.” Tommy said bluntly, amused at the look of confusion returning to Wally’s face.

“How have you _not_ heard of the Justice League? Wonder Woman, Flash, Superman, _Batman_?” Wally asked incredulously.

“Don’t know them. Captain America, Iron Man, Scarlet Witch and Wolverine I do know, though.” Tommy added. “Who?” Wally blinked. “The Avengers?” Tommy raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

“I’ve never heard of them..” Suddenly Wally’s expression cleared. “Oh, you’re from a different planet, huh? But even then, you should’ve heard of Martian Manhunter or the Green Lantern, right?”

“Uh, I’m from the planet Earth. I’d say you’re the one from the other planet.” Tommy told him before switching topics. “Anyway- you said you’re a speedster?” Tommy’s eyes glinted with the anticipation of a race. He didn’t get to race many people, since there were few with superspeed (or at least, few that he knew of). Wally’s face seemed to fall a bit.

“Yeah, that’s what got me here in the first place.” He said.

“Then let’s race!” Tommy grinned. Wally hesitated, before nodding.

“Sure, why not.” He said as he walked over to stand next to Tommy.

“One, two, three, go!” Tommy announced quickly before taking off. Tommy was way ahead of Wally within the first second, so he slowed down a bit to wait for him to catch up. He didn’t have to wait for as long as he would for David or Billy, but longer than he would’ve for Quicksilver. “Some speedster,” Tommy scoffed as Wally reached him.

“Well, that’s what happens when you make your powers.” Wally said a bit testily. His powers were a sore subject for him. “How’d you get yours? Struck by lightning?” Wally asked.

“No way, man. I’m a mutant. Born this way.” Tommy said proudly, the Lady Gaga song going through his head for a brief second. “What, like a teenage mutant ninja turtle?” Wally sniggered.

“Uh, no, but the turtles are awesome, so don’t hate ‘cause you aren’t as cool.” Tommy defended. “Didn’t you hear? I was born this way. Or, technically, reborn this way. Either or, no chemical goo required.”

“‘Reborn’?” Wally repeated, looking very confused.

“Well, if you believe the bullshit that Kaplan keeps saying, and I mean, the theory kind of works, so,” Tommy shrugged.

“How were you ‘reborn’ a mutant?” Wally asked.

“It’s a long, boring, confusing story, but to summarize, born to a witch mom, died as a baby with my twin, had our souls reborn by some dude. We were born to different families, and hence, reborn mutants.” Tommy explained quickly, tapping his foot and using his hands to talk. Even before his powers had kicked in, Tommy couldn’t sit or stand still, and not much had changed after he had gotten his powers.

“Damn that’s confusing. Must make for fun Thanksgivings, huh?” Wally joked. Tommy’s face darkened a bit before clearing and his joking grin returned, although looking a bit more forced.

“You could say that. You got Kaplan’s family, witch mom and her speedster twin and his daughter, their half sister, their terrorist dad, and an android married to witch mom. That’s our dad.” Tommy added.

“What do you mean, android?” Wally asked skeptically.

“Like a robot, dude. Duh.” Tommy rolled his eyes. “Mom’s a witch, so I guess she can kinda do whatever the fuck she wants.” Tommy could tell Wally was trying to figure out how an android could have children, and he enjoyed watching him squirm for a bit.

“Wait, didn’t you say that you were born into another family? What about them, they don’t get invited?” Wally asked suddenly.

“They wouldn’t want to come even if I cared to invite them.” Tommy said shortly. Wally got the feeling that family was an uncomfortable topic, so he switched to a different question.

“Why is your hair white?” Wally asked.

“Speedster thing. Better question is, why isn’t your hair white? Is your uncle’s hair white?” Tommy asked, glad to change topics.

“No, we both have red hair.” Wally told him.

“Weird.” Tommy said, as if a teenager having red hair was more unusual than having natural white hair.

“How long have you been here?” Wally asked next.

“I don’t know, and it’s not like there’s any way to keep track of the time in here.” Tommy told him while rolling his eyes.

“Did you have a team before this place? Do you think they’re looking for you? What about your weird-ass family, I’m sure your witch mom isn’t happy to lose her son again.” Wally asked, thinking about his own team and his own weird-ass family.

“Yeah, and hell no they’re not looking for me. Probably don’t even know I’m gone.” Tommy laughed without humor. “What about you?”

“I had retired from being a superhero, but I had a team, yeah. Dick and Uncle B are probably trying to science the shit out of what happened.” Wally smiled at the thought. “My girlfriend, Artemis, wanted to go back to superheroing, so I went with her. I hope she’s doing okay.” Tommy kept his mouth shut for once, his thoughts returning to his own team. He thought about David, to the few people he’d ever had a ‘relationship’ with. Kate Bishop he’d had a thing with (although he knew that it was only to bug Eli); Lisa Molinari from juvie, although that relationship had only happened as a way to numb out what the so-called doctors would do to them; and others from when Tommy was on the streets, ones that he’d needed in order to survive. His thoughts were turning dark, and Tommy wanted to push back all memories of his past.

“Seeyalater,kid.” Tommy said in a rush before taking off. Stupid wannabe speedster had to come in and bring up memories, huh. Great, just awesome, it was just what Tommy needed. Wally watched Tommy speed off in confusion, not knowing what he’d done wrong. But he supposed that Tommy probably just couldn’t keep still.

Later- although how much later, neither could tell you- Tommy showed up next to Wally. “So what’s your Earth like? No mutants means no mutant hate groups, right?” Tommy asked harshly.

“What? No, we still have hate groups against superheroes.” Wally said with a sigh.

“You still got the sick fuckers that experiment on you, too, huh? Sucks, man.” Tommy told him without sympathy.

“What’d I do, man? Why’d you take off?” Wally asked.

“Just have a hard time staying in one place.” Tommy told him like it was obvious. “So how’d you make your powers?” Tommy asked.

“Well, my uncle got his powers when he got struck by lightning, so I tried to recreate that using science chemicals. Put me in a coma for a few months, that was fun.” Wally laughed.

“You wanted _that_ badly to be a weirdo like your uncle, even knowing about the hate groups? Why the hell would you do that to yourself?” Tommy asked.

“‘Weirdo’? My uncle’s a hero! And I didn’t know about how bad the hate groups were until after I got my powers. Who are you to talk about him being a weirdo?! You’re the one with white hair!” Wally said angrily, not liking how Tommy was insulting him and his family.

“Yeah, and I’m a freak too, it’s nothing new to me.” Tommy replied. “But you had a choice, and you still chose to be a freak. Weird.” Wally glared at him before getting right in Tommy’s face, pulling the green suit to bring Tommy close to him.

“Who the hell do you think you are, insulting my family?” He snarled.

“I’m just a freak making observations.” Tommy responded with a cruel grin. Wally pushed him away in disgust, before taking off. He didn’t know what that guy’s problem was, but he was not going to let his anger get the best of him. Tommy watched Wally go and considered running after him and pushing more of his buttons. Tommy was always better at antagonizing people than getting along with them, and it made him feel more comfortable throwing insults and starting fights than making friends. After a moment’s debate, Tommy decided not to chase after Wally. After all, who knew how long they’d be stuck there alone together.

Later, the pair reunited, since there wasn’t much else they could do. Tommy didn’t apologize for what he said, and that annoyed Wally more than he cared to admit.

“So, your girlfriend Artemis- she hot?” Tommy asked a bit crudely, making Wally sigh in annoyance.

“Yeah, she’s hot. But she’s insanely smart and talented, like Dick. They were the only ones without superpowers on our team, but that sure as hell didn’t stop them from kicking our asses when we deserved it.” Wally laughed, thinking about his teammates. He had really missed Dick when he and Artemis had retired, and he missed him just as much as Artemis now.

“Sounds like Kate.” Tommy grinned. “And Eli, too, though he was a stick in the mud.” Tommy rolled his eyes.

“Yeah? They must’ve been pretty awesome then.” “They dated for a while, yeah, but I don’t think he was _wild_ enough for Katie-Kate.” Tommy wiggled his eyebrows and Wally groaned.

“No wonder no one’s looking for you if you’re like this all the time,” Wally said without thinking. He instantly regretted his words when he saw Tommy stiffen.

“Then I’ll leave you alone.” Tommy said coldly before taking off. Wally groaned- he hated his lack of filter sometimes; his big mouth always got him in trouble. A while later, when Tommy was running through the endless void, with anger coursing through his veins- mainly anger that he knew that Wally was right- the surroundings changed like they did when Wally appeared. It got brighter and brighter before the flash of light faded. When Tommy looked around after and found that he was still stuck there, he ran to see if Wally was still there or if someone else had joined them. It was empty.

“Good.” Tommy said out loud to no one. “McDonald’s was a pain in the ass, anyway.” As he said it, he felt the familiar feeling of loneliness sinking in his gut. Much later, when the never-ending silence and emptiness was threatening to suffocate Tommy and drive him crazy- well, crazier than he already was, he thought wryly- the light from earlier began to glow brighter and brighter. When the light was gone, Tommy found himself lip-locked with David, much to his great surprise.

“Get off me! Dude, we’re noodles-and-a-coffee friends, but you’re moving too-” Tommy broke off mid sentence, looking around. “Where’s the warehouse? Weren’t we in a warehouse?” Even as he said the words, he knew that he had missed a lot of time. Obviously they weren’t still in the warehouse, and that meant that time had passed with him stuck in that weird empty place…. With that kid, Wally. Tommy wondered if Wally had been brought back by a smooch from Artemis (not that Tommy liked David _that_ way, obviously not, there was _no way_ David was anything other than a noodles and coffee friend of course; a little voice in his head sang “someone’s in denial!” but he shoved it down).

“Yeah, but-” David started to explain, before Tommy caught sight of a party down the hill. “Hey- we’re at a party! Great!” He exclaimed before taking off and leaving David behind. Going to a party was a lot less stressful than thinking about how long he’d been gone and how David’s kiss had made his stomach flip a little unpleasantly, and why it had felt so wonderful. Tommy found Kate, and quickly started dancing with her, noticing her shocked expression. He pulled her in for a quick kiss (trying to see if he would still feel the same thrill like before, and noticing that it didn’t feel as nice as kissing David), before laughingly pulling away and continuing to dance (pushing that thought of David far away, to deal with hopefully never). The mindless dance moves, the feeling of touching someone else, the thrum of the music beating through him helped relax his nerves, and he felt better to be surrounded by the action. The group pulled him and Kate away from the party, and Tommy waved goodbye to the party.

“How’d you get Tommy back?” Tommy heard Billy ask David ( _too casually, proving what Tommy knew that Billy hadn’t noticed him being gone-_ )

“I made out with a cosmic horror monster thing.” David told them, and Tommy figured that that must’ve been the thing in Eli’s suit. Tommy tuned out the team, trying to figure out where they were. There were two new kids added; a guy with white hair (did they just replace him? Was he really _that_ expendable?) and a Latina chick decked out in stars and stripes. They seemed to know the team really well, and Tommy heard the Latina girl say something before kicking a star shaped hole into the air. Who the hell _was_ this chick and where’d they find her? Then suddenly, Billy was hugging him. It was a quick hug, but it surprised Tommy all the same. He had no idea that Billy had actually missed him. Of course, the hug was unnecessary (even if it _did_ feel nice to have some affection shown to him for once), but very Billy-like. After Billy let Tommy go, he slung his arm around Teddy’s shoulders.

“Hey, it’s the New Year for the Young Avengers,” Billy said, and Tommy started. _What?!_ It was already a new year?! Had he really been gone for _months_?!? The realization twisted unpleasantly in his gut. He wondered how long Wally had been gone from his own world. Then the others were walking into the star, so Tommy followed, not knowing what else to do. Maybe he should talk to David, find out what he’d missed… But that would mean admitting that he was bothered by the loss of time and Tommy was determined not to give that away. So Tommy decided not to mention it, and to put it from his mind. And though he didn't know where they were going, he was happy to be out of that hell and back to the closest thing he had to a home.

**Author's Note:**

> I think I rushed it a little.... been sitting on this idea for a while now, and I'm finally posting it! Yay!


End file.
